the jeweled masquerade
by al28894
Summary: At first, she thought it was a dream... but then, is that a masquerade mask under the bedsheets? One-shot with a little bit of crack. Contains various animes and mangas. Reviews please!


**So, I started thinking about putting a story based on my "Masquerade" fic, so this is the result, although I tweaked the names of the singing crowd to make it all anime.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TSUBASA RESERVOIR, XXXHOLIC, DETECTIVE CONAN, OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB, OR ANY OTHER CHARACTER FROM THIS FIC! I ONLY OWN THE BROTHER AND SISTER FROM THIS FIC!**

**THE JEWELED MASK**

It was about four o'clock in the morning when I woke up from my slumber.

At first, I didn't know what had woke me up from my dreams as I looked around my room with half-closed, sleepy eyes.

Just a second later, it hit me. _I have to go to the bathroom, NOW!_

-----

Three minutes later, I was walking down along the hallway from the bathroom while thinking to myself. _Blast it! I knew I shouldn't have drunk those Coca-Cola's before bedtime! _

Anyway, just as I passed my little sisters room (which was next to mine's), I froze. Was that _crying _I heard through the door? Must've been a bad dream again, my little sister would never ever cry except either scary movies, or bad dreams.

Carefully, I knocked on her door. "Sis, are you alright?"

No answer. Only more sobbing.

Slowly, I opened the door and stepped into her room. Pink rug on the floor, check. Cartoon magazines on the bookshelf, check. Colourful wallpaper, check. Bed beside the window with little sis sleeping soundly in it, _not check_.

I quickly ran across the room and held my sister in a hug. "Bad dream again?"

My sister's answer was…well…wet. "No. It was beautiful, beautifulllll!" and she sobbed even harder on my shoulder, her wet tears soaking my pajamas.

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because I woke up."

I mentally laughed in my head.

"Oh, it was so beautifulll! And there was everyone there, even some of yours!" now _that_ was not what I expected. My sister and I are anime freaks, and it was always our great wish (and joy) to dream about them while in our sleep. No wonder my lil' sis was upset.

"Now, now, hush…hush…" and after a few minutes, she did hush. "Now, tell me all about it.'

What my sister said next was a bit perplexing, but in the end, I was able to create a scene out of it in my mind, as you will see…

-----

First, the sounds.

Then, the lights.

Trumpets blared from the balconies of the building as every character from every anime and manga imaginable made it's way to the City of Dimensions, and more precisely, to the Opera Populaire. Fireworks exploded in the night sky as down below, hundreds of characters of every kind arrived at the entrance doors of the Opera Populaire in their best clothes.

Kouru Hitachinn: "Hikaru?"

Hikaru Hitachinn: "Kouru?"

"_Why Hika, what an amazing party"_

"_The beginning of a bright new year"_

"_Quite a night"_

"_I'm impressed"_

"_Well one does ones best"_

_Both: "Here's to us!"_

_(More people arrive at the entrance doors)_

_Kimihiro Watanuki: "The toast for the city"_

_Yuuko Ichihara: "What a pity that the 'humans' can't be here"_

-----

_(Everyone comes in, dramatic music begins)_

_Everyone: "Masquerade! Paper faces on parade! Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you."_

_(Paper fans appear out of nowhere on their hands )_

"_Masquerade! Many face a different shade! Masquerade! Look around there's another mask behind you."_

_All the female characters: "flash of mauve, splash of puce, fool and king, ghoul and goose, green and black, queen and priest, trace of rouge, face of beast, faces!"_

"_Take your turn"_

"_Take your time"_

"_On the merry-go-round"_

_Tamaki Suoh and Haruhi Fujioka: "In an inhuman race."_

_All the female characters: "Eye of gold, thigh of blue, true is false, who is who? curl of lip, swirl of gown, ace of hearts, face of clown, faces!"_

"_Drink it in"_

"_Drink it up"_

"_Till you drown in the light"_

"_In the sound"_

_Shaoran and Sakura: "But who can name the face?"_

_Everyone: "Masquerade! Grinning yellows, spinning reds! Masquerade! Take you fill - let the spectacle astound you."_

"_Masquerade! Burning glances, turning heads! Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you."_

_Everyone whispering: ("Masquerade! Seething shadows, breathing lies! Masquerade! You can fool any friend who ever knew you.")_

_Eve. shouting again: "Masquerade! Leering satyrs, peering eyes! Masquerade! Run and hide – but a face will still pursue you."_

-----

_(Everyone looks at the grand staircase to see a group of people _

_Aoko: "What a night!"_

_Kaito Kuroba: "What a crowd!"_

_Edward Elric: "Makes you glad!"_

_Alphonsoe Elric: "Makes you proud! All the crème de la crème…"_

_Yuuko Ichihara: "Watching us and watching them."_

_Himawari Kunogi: "And all our fears are in the past."_

_Kimihiro Watanuki: "Three months."_

_Shinichi Kudo: "Of relief!"_

_Ran Maori: "Of delight!"_

_Alphonsoe Elric: "Of Elysian peace!"_

_Kimihiro Watanuki and Himawari Kunogi: "And we can breathe at last."_

_Kaito Kuroba: "No more notes!"_

_Shinichi Kudo: "No more ghosts!"_

_Winry Rockbell: "their' a health."_

_Edward Elric: "their' a toast to a prosperous year."_

_Alphonsoe Elric: "To our friends who are here."_

_Shinichi Kudo and Ran Maori: "And may the splendor never fade!"_

_Kimihiro Watanuki and Himawari Kunogi: "What a blessed release!"_

_Yuuko Ichihara: "And what a masquerade!_

_(Dramatic music continues as everyone dances to the music. The mirrors around the ballroom reflected the dancers and create a magnificent illusion of a crowded ballroom filled with twirling people. Then, all of the dancers stopped dancing and some of the couples kissed each other as the music rises to a new tempo)_

_Everyone: "MASQUERADE!!! PAPER FACES ON PARADE!!! Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you!"_

_(Pom! Pom! Pom! Pomm! Pomm! Pomm!)_

"_Masquerade! Every face a different shade! Masquerade! Look around there's another mask behind you!"_

_(Boom! Boom! – Boom! Boom!)_

"_Masquerade! Burning glances turning heads! Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you!"_

_(Pom! Pom! Pom! Pomm! Pomm! Pomm!)_

"_Masquerade! Grinning yellows spinning reds! Masquerade! Take your fill – let the spectacle astound you…"_

-----

"And after that, there was this huge, creaking sound and suddenly, the back doors of the hallway just opened and beyond it, oh! there was this beautiful garden!" said my sister, who had finally stopped crying and now retelling the tale to my amazement.

"It was full of trees and flowers and there was even a frozen lake at the middle of it! There were also tables and chairs everywhere, filled with food! Oh, brother, can you imagine? Sitting there, eating all the food…looking around at all of them…talking to them? The Edward's, the Sakura's, the Haruhi's…"

"After everyone ate, we all walked around the park and skated on the lake, talking to all of them. Then, there was this woman, looking at me all the time. She was so beautiful, I don't know to…image her. After I finished skating, she quickly untied her mask and suddenly, she held it out to me, like it was some present! I was shocked! The mask would easily cost a lot here, because it had gold and diamonds and rubies everywhere! Anyway just as soon as I grabbed it, I…I woke up."

_Wow, what a dream!_ I thought. Never one I dreamed, or even imagined, that such a thing would be possible, even in dreams!

Unfortunately, the end of the story also meant that my lil' sis would be crying again. I noticed the faltering voice at the end of her story as a sign that sooner or later, the tear ducts would be very busy.

'It was soo real… I wanted it to be real…" said my lil' sis, tears welling up again under her eyes.

And that was when I noticed something peeking out from under the bed sheets.

"Sis, what is that?"

My sister didn't answer. Instead, she reached her right hand slowly into the bed sheet and pulled a glittering object out of it. Her eyes wide as dinner plates.

It was a masquerade mask, and boy, what a mask! It looked as if it had came out of a grand 18th century party. The mask was inlaid with strips and curls of pure gold and mother-of-pearl. Rows of tiny Padparadscha sapphires framed it's eyeholes and a glittering array of diamonds encased the mask's smooth edges in a beautiful display. Two black ribbons hung loosely from it's sides and in-between the eyeholes, a display of colorful feathers held together with a large ruby completed the masterpiece.

It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

"Sis, where did you get this?"

She didn't answer, only stared at the mask. Then slowly she looked back down at the bed sheets and saw a piece of paper, peeking out from underneath the covers.

She reached down to grab it and upon the outside streetlights began to read the slanting words written on it.

_"A little reminder of the time you had here. I hope you enjoyed the gift."_

_"Y.I."_

I could only utter one word after that.

"Impossible…"

-----

Millions of miles away, the woman who wrote her initials on the letter looked at the moon. A strange bunny-like creature sat on her right shoulder.

As she stared at the white disk looming above the city, her thoughts turned back to the little girl from Earth. She knew that if the girl woke up, she would wish that what happened tonight would be real, and that she wanted a piece of it with her, wherever she was.

Well, as the Dimensional Witch, the woman would have more than enough power to grant it. The price however, would mean that there would be one less masquerade mask hanging in her closet.

Still, as the great marble moon shines her twilight light over the city, and as Lelouch Lamperouge says his goodbyes to InuYasha, the beautiful woman spoke her words to the great, dark sky above her.

"Enjoy your gift, dear child."

**I hope you enjoyed the story as much as it enjoys me. BTW, Padparadscha is a very rare and very valued type of sapphire that can only be found in certain parts of the world.**

**Anyway, comment's please! And no flamers!**


End file.
